Aga Akbar, the youngest of seven children and the illegitimate son of a Persian nobleman, is a deaf-mute. He makes use of a rudimentary sign language to get by in the world, but his deepest thoughts and feelings go unexpressed. Hoping to free the boy from his emotional confinement, his uncle asks him to visit a cave on nearby Saffron Mountain and to copy a three-thousand-year-old cuneiform inscription -- an order of the first king of Persia and the destination of many pilgrimages. Through the rest of his life, Aga Akbar uses these cuneiform characters to fill his notebook with writings only he can understand. 
Years later, his political-dissident son, Ishmael, has been forced to flee Iran. From his new home in the Netherlands, he attempts to translate the notebook, and in the process he tells his father's story, his own story, and the story of twentieth-century Iran -- from the building of the first railroad to the struggles for power among the shah, the communists, and the mullahs, and ending with the revolution.
Rich in the myths of Persia and peopled with characters of rare archetypal power, this stunning and ambitious novel by Kader Abdolah masterfully charts a culture's troubled voyage into modernity. Just as poignantly, it is a magnificent, timeless tale of a son's love for his father.

My Father's Notebook: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Abdolah, Kader

Contemporary

Harper

When he was a boy, Aga Akbar, the deaf-mute illegitimate son of a Persian nobleman, traveled with his uncle to a cave on nearby Saffron Mountain. Once there, he was to copy a three-thousand-year-old cuneiform inscriptionan order of the first king of Persiaas a means of freeing himself from his emotional confinement. For the remainder of his life, Aga Akbar used these cuneiform characters to fill a notebook with writings only he could understand. Years later, his son, Ishmaela political dissident in exileis attempting to translate the notebook . . . and in the process tells his father's story, his own, and the story of twentieth-century Iran. A stunning and ambitious novel by a singular literary talent, My Father's Notebook is at once a masterful chronicle of a culture's troubled voyage into modernity and the poignant, timeless tale of a son's enduring love.

My Father's Notebook: A Novel of Iran

United States

Harper-perennial

A hypnotic page-turner about the grinding gears of historical change and ruthless palace intrigue in Persia, c. 1848. The King, young Shah Naser, takes to the throne of Persia at a turning point of history: he inherits an enchanted medieval world of harems, eunuchs, and treasures as well as a palace of secret doors, sudden deaths, and hidden agendas. Within the court is danger enough: outside all manner of change threatens―industrialization, colonization. Russia and England conspire to open the King’s empire; his mother and his vizier take opposing sides. The poor King―almost an exact contemporary of Queen Victoria―is trapped. He likes some aspects of modernity (electricity, photography) but can’t embrace democracy. He must be a sovereign: he must keep his throne. The King cannot face change and he cannot escape it. With this gleaming and seemingly simple story, breathlessly paced and beautifully told, Kader Abdolah, the acclaimed Iranian émigré novelist, speaks of deeper truths. A novel which has many timely things to say about eras of change and upheaval, The King is an unforgettable book.

The King: A Novel

New Directions

A hypnotic page-turner about the grinding gears of historical change and ruthless palace intrigue in Persia, c. 1848. The King, young Shah Naser, takes to the throne of Persia at a turning point of history: he inherits an enchanted medieval world of harems, eunuchs, and treasures as well as a palace of secret doors, sudden deaths, and hidden agendas. Within the court is danger enough: outside all manner of change threatens―industrialization, colonization. Russia and England conspire to open the King’s empire; his mother and his vizier take opposing sides. The poor King―almost an exact contemporary of Queen Victoria―is trapped. He likes some aspects of modernity (electricity, photography) but can’t embrace democracy. He must be a sovereign: he must keep his throne. The King cannot face change and he cannot escape it. With this gleaming and seemingly simple story, breathlessly paced and beautifully told, Kader Abdolah, the acclaimed Iranian émigré novelist, speaks of deeper truths. A novel which has many timely things to say about eras of change and upheaval, The King is an unforgettable book.

Literary

*Longlisted for the 2016 International DUBLIN Literary Award*
Once upon a time there was a Persian prince. The prince had many brothers, for his father had married over a thousand wives, but Prince Naser alone stood to inherit the kingdom.
 As the prince ascends to the throne we lurk in his shadow to overhear the whispered intrigues and plotting of bloody battles. The weight of the nation bears heavily on Shah Naser's shoulders. Will this young king triumph or will he succumb to the forces that threaten to engulf him?
 Enter the court of the King of Persia . . .

The King

CANONGATE BOOKS *

My Father's Notebook (Canons)

Canongate Canons

A sweeping, compelling story bringing to life the Iranian Revolution, from an author who experienced it first hand Iran 1969. In the house of the mosque, the family of Aqa Jaan has lived for eight centuries. Now it is occupied by three cousinsAqa Jaan, a merchant and head of the city’s bazaar; Alsaberi, the imam of the mosque; and Aqa Shoja, the mosque’s muezzin. The house teems with life as each family grows up with their own triumphs and tragedies. Sadiq is waiting for a suitor to knock at the door to ask for her hand, while her two grandmothers sweep the floors each morning dreaming of traveling to Mecca. Shahbal longs only to get hold of a television to watch the first moon landing. These daily dramas play out under the watchful eyes of the storks that nest on the rooftop of the house. But this family will experience upheaval unknown to previous generations. For in Iran, political unrest is brewing. The Shah is losing his hold on power; the Ayatollah incites rebellion from his exile in France; and one day the Ayatollah returns. The consequences will be felt in every corner of Aqa Jaan’s family. The story of a key period of world historythe Iranian Revolutionis told through the eyes of one family in an entertaining and moving, personal and political, completely unforgettable novel.

The House of the Mosque

Welcome to the house of the mosque . . . 
Iran, 1950. Spring has arrived, and as the women prepare the festivities, Sadiq waits for a suitor to knock on the door. Her uncle Nosrat returns from Tehran with a glamorous woman, while on the rooftop, Shahbal longs only for a television to watch the first moon landing. But not even the beloved grandmothers can foresee what will happen in the days and months to come. The household is set to experience great love and loss as it opens the doors to faith and politics. 
In this uplifting bestseller, Kader Abdolah charts the triumphs and tragedies of a family on the brink of revolution.

Iran, 1950. Spring has arrived, and as the women prepare the festivities, Sadiq waits for a suitor to knock on the door. Her uncle Nosrat returns from Tehran with a glamorous woman, while on the rooftop, Shahbal longs only for a television to watch the first moon landing. But not even the beloved grandmothers can foresee what will happen in the days and months to come. The household is set to experience great love and loss as it opens its doors to faith and politics. 
 In this uplifting bestseller, Kader Abdolah charts the triumphs and tragedies of a family on the brink of revolution.

Das Haus an der Moschee

Arts & Photography

Music

Ullstein Taschenbuchvlg

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Books by Abdolah, Kader

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Abdolah, Kader. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

My Father's Notebook: A Novel

My Father's Notebook: A Novel of Iran

The King: A Novel

The King: A Novel

The King

My Father's Notebook (Canons)

The House of the Mosque

The House of the Mosque

The House of the Mosque

Das Haus an der Moschee